From November 22 to 24, the First National Construction Robot Skills Competition (ZYF Cup) and the Construction Robot Development Forum were held in Suzhou. Co-organized by the Chinese Association of Automation (CAA) and the People’s Government of Xiangcheng District in Suzhou, and hosted by CAA Construction Robot Committee, the event drew over 300 participants and 65 entries nationwide. The team from Nankai University’s College of Artificial Intelligence secured the only Gold Medal in the creative competition category with their project — the Cross-domain Variable-structure Tunnel Inspection Robot.

Guided by Professor Sun Ning and Assistant Research Fellow Wu Qingxiang from the College of Artificial Intelligence, three students- Lou Huanhuan, Wang Hai, and Su Yuanhao- developed the robot to address the challenges of complex tunnel inspection scenarios. The system integrates a land-air cross-domain inspection robot for comprehensive spatial coverage of tunnels and a variable-structure flying robot to tackle inaccessible narrow spaces. The team also designed a unified system framework for variable-structure robots, enabling seamless collaboration among different robotic configurations and significantly enhancing operational efficiency and flexibility.

The National Construction Robot Skills Competition is a high-profile industry event aimed at promoting the high-quality development and intelligent transformation of the construction sector, while nurturing innovative and outstanding talent. The competition sets rigorous criteria for the innovation, functionality, and practicability of the entries. A panel of prestigious scholars, technical experts from construction companies, and experienced venture capitalists serves as judges. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the event strictly enforces a conflict-of-interest policy, ensuring that judges recuse themselves from evaluating works related to their affiliated organizations.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)